At the Center of Power: Ritual Assemblies and the Making of Gods and Kings in the Western Himalaya

Forms of divine kingship, historically prevalent in South Asia, remain vividly manifested in the annual Daśahrā festival of the Kullu Valley (Himachal Pradesh). The valley is the historical seat of the Kullu Kingdom, whose scion is still called rājā. Central to this kingdom’s formation and sustenance are the devtās—local village deities regarded as sovereigns of their respective communities. This article argues that the constitution of sovereignty in the valley, at all levels, hinges on a ritual mechanism of patterned assemblies around a material locus, constructed as the source of sociopolitical and divine power. Drawing on ethnographic research, this study builds upon and expands existing scholarship with three main objectives. First, it examines the particularities of the ritual assemblies performed during the Kullu Daśahrā, exploring how they establish divine and human kingship. Second, it traces these assemblies to a foundational ritual pattern, wherein deities, in their material, traveling forms, are constituted as tangible loci of power within their communities. Finally, it demonstrates that these assemblies do not merely reflect perceptions of power but actively shape and sustain them. Through embodied, sensory experiences, the rituals construct the material center as the locus of sociopolitical and divine authority. This study offers fresh insights into the constitution of divine kingship in the Western Himalaya and the interplay between materiality, ritual performance, and notions of power.